Category Archives: Book Review

Knitting the Threads of Time – Nora Murphy

Knitting the Threads of Time – Nora Murphy

I am not sure where I first heard about this book, Brenda Dayne may have mentioned it on her podcast. I found a copy on Abebooks and it slowly made it’s way to me (I wasn’t in any hurry).

Here’s the blurb …

In an era of global warming, war, escalating expenses, declining income, and drugs and violence in schools, many mothers feel they have little control over their families or their worlds. Nora Murphy eloquently demonstrates that many women do control one tiny thing: their next stitch.

While tracing the frustrations and joys of knitting a sweater for her son through the course of one cold, dark Minnesota winter, Murphy eloquently brings to life the traditions and cultures of women from many backgrounds, including Hmong, American Indian, Mexican, African, and Irish. Murphy’s personal stories — about her struggles to understand esoteric knitting patterns, her help from the shaman of the knit shop, and her challenges sticking with an often vexing project — will appeal to knitters as well as everyone else who has labored to create something from scratch.

We follow Nora as she knits her son a jumper and muses on the roles of knitting, textiles and craft in the lives of women. Ms Murphy’s writing style is conversational, you feel like you are sitting together knitting over a cup of tea.

If you like knitting, social history, women’s history, then you will enjoy this book. It is an easy read, with short chapters (I did a lot of ‘just one more chapter’).

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No Idle Hands; The Social History of American Knitting – Anne L MacDonald

No Idle Hands – Anne L MacDonald

I have had this book (on my Kindle) since 2020, but I had a sample of it for much longer. I finally decided to read it.

Here’s the blurb …

“Fascinating . . . What is remarkable about this book is that a history of knitting can function so well as a survey of the changes in women’s roles over time.”–The New York Times Book Review

An historian and lifelong knitter, Anne Macdonald expertly guides readers on a revealing tour of the history of knitting in America. In No Idle Hands, Macdonald considers how the necessity–and the pleasure–of knitting has shaped women’s lives.

Here is the Colonial woman for whom idleness was a sin, and her Victorian counterpart, who enjoyed the pleasure of knitting while visiting with friends; the war wife eager to provide her man with warmth and comfort, and the modern woman busy creating fashionable handknits for herself and her family. Macdonald examines each phase of American history and gives us a clear and compelling look at life, then and now. And through it all, we see how knitting has played an important part in the way society has viewed women–and how women have viewed themselves.

Assembled from articles in magazines, knitting brochures, newspaper clippings and other primary sources, and featuring reproductions of advertisements, illustrations, and photographs from each period, No Idle Hands capture the texture of women’s domestic lives throughout history with great wit and insight.

This was great, if you are at all interested in knitting and history, then this is the book for you. This was published in 1988, and therefore doesn’t cover the last thirty years, but, despite that, it is very interesting. Who knew that knitting was big in the 1930s (and not during war time)? What it also highlights is how women’s roles have changed over time, and how knitting has changed from a necessity to a relaxing hobby that’s good for mental health.

A review

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The Knitting Sutra – Susan Gordon Lydon

The Knitting Sutra – Susan Gordon Lydon

I first heard about this book on the Cast On by Brenda Dayne podcast (I love this podcast – I support it on patreon). I found a copy at Abe books for a pound.

Here’s the blurb …

Available for the first time in paperback, The Knitting Sutra reveals how women can learn to knit their way to nirvana.

When Susan Gordon Lydon was coping with a broken arm, her craft took on new significance. While knitting was essential to strengthening her hands, it also provided her with a newfound sense of peace and creativity. Immersed in brilliant colors, textures, and images of beautiful sweaters, Lydon found healing and enlightenment in a way she had never imagined. Capturing this journey of discovery, The Knitting Sutra recounts her remarkable membership in a community of craftswomen around the world, from sweater makers in Scotland to Navajo weavers, and the adventures that her craft led her on.

As she masters new techniques and conquers old obstacles, Lydon’s story conveys how the lessons she learned from knitting, such as stillness and interdependence, later sustained her through a cancer diagnosis and even the incapacitation of her hands. The Knitting Sutra is both a meditation on craft and an affirmation for anyone seeking heartfelt comfort. 

I read this while recovering from Covid (there’s a 2022 sentence for you). I found it interesting and motivating (I wanted to get back into the knitting). I do like a book about knitting. I liked it so much that I have ordered her other knitting book Knitting Heaven and Earth: Healing the heart with Craft. It’s not going to arrive until July though.

If you’re into knitting, and how knitting can improve your mental and physical health, then this book is for you.

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The Fabric of Civilization – Virginia Postrel

Fabric of civilization – Virginia Postrel

I saw this at my local book shop and had to buy it.

Here’s the blurb…

From Paleolithic flax to 3D knitting, a global history of textiles and the world they made
The story of humanity is the story of textiles — as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture.
In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world. Textiles funded the Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; they gave us banks and bookkeeping, Michelangelo’s David and the Taj Mahal. The cloth business spread the alphabet and arithmetic, propelled chemical research, and taught people to think in binary code.
Assiduously researched and deftly narrated, The Fabric of Civilization tells the story of the world’s most influential commodity.

This book is fabulous – well written and researched. It made me think about string, banking and weaving in a whole new way. There are chapters on Fiber, Thread, Cloth, Dye, Traders, Consumers and Innovators. Each chapter is a deep-dive into its topic.

If you are at all interested in Textile History (or just History for that matter), then this is the book for you. Easy to read, but very informative.

You can also listen to Virginia Postrel on this Haptic and Hue podcast.

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Jane Austen Embroidery – Jennie Batchelor and Alison Larkin

Jane Austen Embroidery – Jennie Batchelor and Alison Arkin

This combines two of my favourite things – Jane Austen and Embroidery.

Jennie Batchelor writes about Jane Austen, textile history and The Lady’s Magazine. Alison Arkin designed the projects based on embroidery designs in The Lady’s Magazine.

It’s a beautiful book with lovely designs and illustrations. There are designs for all kinds of things; phone pouch, work bag, table cloth, cushion, clutch. My favourite is the design on an apron (I am not sure if I would ever make an apron, but I like the embroidery).

Work bag, Apron and Illustration

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This Golden Fleece – Esther Rutter

This Golden Fleece – Esther Rutter

I do love a knitting history/essay book and was very keen to get this one. After much stuffing around by amazon, I bought it from the book depository.

Over the course of a year, Esther Rutter – who grew up on a sheep farm in Suffolk, and learned to spin, weave and knit as a child – travels the length of the British Isles, to tell the story of wool’s long history here. She unearths fascinating histories of communities whose lives were shaped by wool, from the mill workers of the Border countries, to the English market towns built on profits of the wool trade, and the Highland communities cleared for sheep farming; and finds tradition and innovation intermingling in today’s knitwear industries. Along the way, she explores wool’s rich culture by knitting and crafting culturally significant garments from our history – among them gloves, a scarf, a baby blanket, socks and a fisherman’s jumper – reminding us of the value of craft and our intimate relationship with wool. This Golden Fleece is at once a meditation on the craft and history of knitting, and a fascinating exploration of wool’s influence on our landscape, history and culture. 

This was a fabulous book – I enjoyed the combination of knitting (she knit a bikini!, history and travel). It is a bit like ‘Julie and Julia’ we follow Esther’s journey we she learns about knitting in various places and attempts to knit the ‘signature’ garment of that place.

Fruity knitting have an interview with Esther and here is a review at The Guardian. And her is a blog review.

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June Sock Project

Swatch for my June Sock

I finished my may sock early, which means I can try something a bit more adventurous for June.

Above is my swatch, which is a bit disappointing. The ball looks like

King Cole Zig Zag Colour Magic

which is quite pretty, but the swatch has large colour blocks (pooling) that I am not so keen on. So I have decided this probably isn’t the yarn for a special project, but is the yarn to practise a special project.

I want to make something historical and have decided on these socks from Knitting Vintage Socks

Evening Stockings for a young lady

The lace pattern requires a multiple of 6 plus 1, so I have decided to cast on 60 and make one in the round before starting the lace – the ribbing is K2P1, so a multiple of 3. It’s not possible to have a multiple of 6 plus 1 and have it be a multiple of 3.

This is different to the pattern, but I think I should be able to use the same heel (Dutch heel) and toe (round) as the pattern.

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This Thing of Paper – Karie Westerman

Cover image of this thing of paper
This Thing of Paper – Karie Westermann

I have had this book since it was published and the fact that it has taken this no long to read is no indication of its quality more a sign of my book piling.

This is from Karie’s website


This Thing of Paper is a knitting book that urges you to make stuff. Karie Westermann was inspired by her lifelong fascination with books and how all her favourite volumes all fit just so in her hands (much like her favourite pair of knitting needles!). Eleven knitting patterns explore the connections between books and knitting, while the accompanying essays take you from medieval monasteries to contemporary libraries.
What does it mean to be a maker? What do handmade things mean to us? Who do we become as we read and knit? All these questions and many more are discussed in a knitting book quite unlike others.
The book comes complete with the patterns written in Karie’s signature style, lush photography shot on location, and bespoke graphic design.

This is a fabulous book if you are interested in knitting, books, and the history of books. The essays are interesting and thought provoking and don’t take long to read. You could dip in and out of this book – just read an essay now and then. I read it from start to finish in a couple of sittings.

I am keen to have a go at a Hap shawl and thought I might attempt the Woodcut Shawl – although I am going to start with a simpler one first. I am doing the Shetland Hap Shawl class at Craftsy.

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Handywoman – Kate Davies

Cover of Handywoman by Kate Davies
Handywoman – Kate Davies

I have bought a few of Kate’s knitting books – Colours of Shetland, Yokes, Inspired by Islay and The West Highland Way – and I am currently knitting Braid Hills Cardigan. I also follow her blog. I was very keen to read this book as I find her knitting essays to be thoughtful and eloquent.

I wasn’t disappointed. This is a very personal memoir of a person who had a stroke and their subsequent rehabilitation and recovery. It is a positive and thought provoking look at illness, feminism, disability, ability, knitting an design. It has made me think about the world and how I move through it with my able body. It has made me think about the design of the objects in my life and how U put up with poor design (because being able-bodied I can). For example, my sewing table is the wrong height and the gap for the chair is in the wrong place, inconvenient but still usable. However, I notice I don’t sew as much as I would like. 

Every chapter was interesting. I kept thinking this is my favourite only to move onto the next one and think ‘no this is my favourite’. It made me think about brain injury and how because it is invisible we might not be as sympathetic or as accommodating as we should be – for example, when we are in a crowded space behind a slow moving person, etc.

It also made me think about community – our local community, our knitting community, etc and the connections we make.

Another review and another.

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The Bayeux Tapestry – Carola Hicks

Cover of Bayeux Tapestry by Carola Hicks

Bayeux Tapestry by Carola Hicks

I have always been fascinated by the Bayeux Tapestry and one day I will get to see it in person. I find it fascinating, but also I want to know about the people who made it. What were there lives like?

Here is the blurb …

The vivid scenes on the Bayeux Tapestry depict the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is one of Europe’s greatest treasures and its own story is full of drama and surprise.

Who commissioned the tapestry? Was it Bishop Odo, William’s ruthless half-brother? Or Harold’s dynamic sister Edith, juggling for a place in the new court? Hicks shows us this world and the miracle of the tapestry’s making: the stitches, dyes and strange details in the margins. For centuries it lay ignored in Bayeux cathedral until its ‘discovery’ in the eighteenth century. It became a symbol of power as well as art: townsfolk saved it during the French Revolution; Napoleon displayed it to promote his own conquest; the Nazis strove to make it their own; and its influence endures today.

This marvelous book, packed with thrilling stories, shows how we remake history in every age and how a great work of art has a life of its own.

It took me a while to read this book – not because it is difficult (It has a chatty accessible style), but there is a lot of information. It is split into 6 sections:

  • Embroidering History
  • Lost and Found
  • Revolutions and Romantics
  • The Gentle Touch
  • The Great Escape
  • Global Image

There is information on the possible patrons, lucky escapes (Napoleon and Himmler), various people who drew it and studied and some even made replicas!

If you are at all interested in textiles and social history, you will find this fascinating.

Another review

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/mar/18/featuresreviews.guardianreview5

 

 

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